Method And System To Dynamically Instantiate Virtual Repository For Any Services

ABSTRACT

A virtual machine/function of repository is used to collect information for use in providing a particular service to a particular user in a network. The virtual machine/function of repository is dynamically instantiating in a front end of the network upon receiving a request to provision the particular service for the particular user. The collected information pertains only to providing the particular service to the particular user. The virtual machine/function of repository is synchronized with one or more consolidated databases in a back end of the network. The virtual machine/function of repository is deleted upon discontinuation of the particular service for the particular user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.14/674,820, entitled “Method and System to Dynamically InstantiateVirtual Repository for Any Services,” filed on Mar. 31, 2015, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the virtualization of network servicesand functions. More specifically, the disclosure is directed to thecreation of virtual domains per subscriber per service for accessingdata repositories and databases.

BACKGROUND

As the entire digital/communication industry moves towardsvirtualization and creating services and network functions on virtualdomains for each subscriber and for each specific service, the need foraccess to repositories and databases is paramount.

In today's advanced networks there are repositories for networkfunctions, such as call processing and mid-call services, as well asrepositories for customer profiles, billing and policy enforcement.Those also include service databases for any service provided tosubscribers both internally and via third party services. For example,one mobile service provider maintains over ten platforms for servicessuch as call completion, browsing, texting and third party services suchas Twitter® and Facebook®. Currently those repositories exist asindividual siloes across the network and must be queried for eachsubscriber and for each service that a subscriber is using. There aretherefore millions of virtual service instances where there is a needfor collecting, comparing and changing information with real time ornear time access. In each of those instances, latency is created. To beable to accommodate all these inquiries, there is a tremendous need forplatform access build-up as well as network backhaul expansion.

It can be seen that there is a need to reduce the latency created bycollecting, comparing and changing information required in providingnetwork services. There is furthermore a need to reduce the necessityfor network backhaul infrastructure required for collecting, comparingand changing information required in providing network services.

SUMMARY

The needs existing in the field are addressed by the present disclosure,which relates to systems, methods and computer useable media forcollecting information for use in providing a particular service to aparticular user in a network. In embodiments, a method is provided,comprising receiving a request to provision the particular service forthe particular user; dynamically instantiating a virtualmachine/function of repository in a front end of the network, forrepresenting the information for use only in providing the particularservice to the particular user; synchronizing the virtualmachine/function of repository with at least one consolidated databasein a back end of the network; accessing the information from the virtualmachine/function of repository as needed in providing the particularservice to the particular user; receiving a request to discontinue theparticular service for the particular user; and deleting the virtualmachine/function of repository.

Each of the consolidated databases may contain information used inservices having similar requirements. Communications between the virtualmachine/function of repository and the at least one consolidateddatabase may include dynamic security and policy functionality.

Communications between the virtual machine/function of repository andthe consolidated database may include schema adaption functionality forcorrectly representing a data schema for the particular service. Thevirtual machine/function of repository may include at least onefunctionality for communications with at least one consolidateddatabase, chosen from the group of functionalities consisting of alarm,indexing, backup, change log and certificate functionality.

Synchronizing the virtual machine/function of repository with theconsolidated databases may further include writing, reading, changing orremoving new information from at least one of the consolidated databasesto the virtual machine/function of repository.

The respective objects and features of the disclosure may be appliedjointly or severally in any combination or sub combination by thoseskilled in the art. Any claimed embodiment of the invention does notnecessarily include all of the objects or embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system architecture incorporatingelements according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method in accordance with oneembodiment the disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The presently disclosed technique accommodates the current evolution ofnetwork topology by consolidating/federating existing repositories intoa handful of datacenters, where databases with similar requirements canbe consolidated/federated with main management functionality collectedin the front part of the architecture. A virtual machine/function ofrepository is then created for each particular user for each particularservice. The virtual machine/function of repository is synchronized withthe consolidated/federated data center, and is deleted upon terminationof the service. The virtual machine/function of repository contains onlythe information needed to offer the particular service to the particularuser.

Currently there are numerous databases located across the network for anumber of network functionalities and services. For each instance of asubscriber utilizing a service or placing a call there is a need toquery the necessary databases. The databases are presently housed invendor-specific hardware, but generic, unified hardware is beinggradually implemented to run virtual, vendor-agnostic applications.Specifically, hardware implementing the X86 family of backwardcompatible instruction set architectures has been used. Since thosedatabases are located in only a handful of data centers, with the cloudsolution and nature of UDNC network, the number of virtual networkfunctions will increase exponentially and the amount of traffic to hitthose databases will also increase.

An example illustrates typical database usage by a user. The user powersup a mobile device and attaches to a mobile voice and data network. Themobile network accesses the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) and the HomeLocation Register (HLR) databases to authenticate and attach the user'sdevice. If the user uses texting, the Multimedia Messaging Service(MIMS) database is accessed. Video streaming may require accessing oneor more additional databases. The use of third party services such asGoogle®, Twitter® or Facebook®, which may require device capabilitydata, preferred servers, user preferences, etc. that must be retrievedfrom additional databases. Further, the use of a single service mayresult in accessing multiple repositories.

In order to avoid that traffic increase and hardware augmentation in thedatabase domain, the presently disclosed system consolidates thedatabases in the back end and dynamically creates front-end microvirtual machines for each instance. The virtual machines only includeinformation needed for that particular service. Databases with similarrequirements are consolidated/federated with a collected main managementfunctionality.

In the exemplary architecture 100 shown in FIG. 1, consolidatedapplication repositories 115, 120, 125, 130 are created in a networkbackend 110. Each one of those repositories contains data supportingservices having similar requirements. For example, repository 115contains databases of a first type, including user device identificationrepositories 116 and application repositories 117, which have similardata management requirements. Similarly, repository 120 includesinformation from the MIND proprietary database 121, used in VOIP, andthe ENUM (E.164 Number to URI Mapping) database 122 which translatestelephone numbers into Internet addresses, both of which have similardata management requirements. Repository 125 includes information fromthe virtualized network function (VNF) state database 126 which isresponsible for handling specific network functions that run in virtualmachines, and information from the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem)registrar 127. Repository 130 includes information from the HSS (homesubscriber server) (IMS) 131, the HLR (Home Location Register) 132, acentral database that contains details of each mobile phone subscriberthat is authorized to use the GSM® network, and mobility applications129. In each case, the information contained in a single consolidatedrepository has similar data management requirements. For that reason,unified intelligence, including front end and security, may be used ineach consolidated repository.

The consolidated databases 115, 120, 125, 130 are created and maintainedvia provisioning adaption layer 140 using the SOAP (Simple Object Accessprotocol) 141 XML-based protocol and/or LDAP (Lightweight DirectoryAccess Protocol) 142. The consolidated databases may, for example, beOracle® databases. A backend management layer 150 controls taskspertinent to the consolidated databases 115, 120, 125, 130, such asbackup, indexing, etc.

Upon the initiation of a service instance by or for a subscriber, avirtual machine/function of repository 161 is dynamically instantiatedfor that service where all the necessary information for the particularsubscriber and the particular service is represented in a very smallvirtual repository. Virtual machine/function of repository 161 iscreated in a network front end 160. While only a single virtualmachine/function of repository 161 is shown in the exemplary system 100of FIG. 1, a large number of such VMs (one per user per service) isinstantiated in an actual deployment of the disclosed system.

The VM-MF contains support for synchronization 162 of the virtualmachine/function of repository 161 with the consolidated repositories inboth directions, as represented by arrow 159. That is, read, write,change and delete capabilities are provided from the virtualmachine/function of repository 161 to the consolidated repositories 115,120, 125, 130 and from the consolidated repositories to the virtualmachine. More generally, each single logical operation on the data isguaranteed atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability. That setof properties guarantees that the database transactions are processedreliably.

The VM-MF additionally supports a notify function 163 supportingnotifications in both directions to provide alerts, for example, forchanges to or accesses to the data.

A smart profile adaption engine with dynamic selection feature (SPAS)164 is capable of handling various data schemas in adapting the virtualmachine/function of repository 161 for particular services. That schemaadaption functionality enables the virtual machine/function ofrepository to correctly represent the data schema for each particularservice.

A front line management layer 165 provides front line management fordatabase transactions. The front line management layer 165 includes acaching function 166 as well as a dynamic policy and security (DP&S)function 167 that provide support for transmitting information from thevirtual machine/function of repository to be used in providing theparticular service to the particular user. For example, the front linemanagement layer may oversee the transfer of data to and from a usermobile device or a service provider server.

Various interface protocols 180 may be used in making the storedinformation available for use in the particular service. Examplesinclude the Mobile Application Part (MAP) SS7 protocol, RADIUS andDIAMETER authentication, authorization, and accounting protocols,WebSocket (WS) protocol and Structured Query Language (SQL).

A virtual machine/function of repository 161 may be created for any of alarge variety of telecommunications or other data services. In oneexample, information required for running one or more mobilityapplications for a particular subscriber are made available via avirtual machine/function of repository. The information may include, forexample, user preferences, user device identification information andstored application data. The virtual machine/function of repository 161is created by a service controller upon notice that a user is utilizinga mobile application.

In another example, a Trusted WLAN AAA Proxy (TWAP) service or a TrustedWireless Access Gateway (TWAG) may access required information via avirtual machine/function of repository created upon a request by a userto join a WiFi network.

Mobility Management Entity (MME) and Mobile Switching Center (MSC)systems may access required information via a virtual machine/functionof repository for wireless communications activities. Policy tools fordetermining policy rules in a network, such as Policy and Charging RulesFunction (PCRF) and Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) may alsoaccess needed information for specific users and services via a virtualmachine/function of repository.

An exemplary method in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure is illustrated by the flow chart 200 of FIG. 2. A request toprovision the particular service for the particular user is received atblock 210. In embodiments, the request is received at a servicecontroller within a dynamic service platform. The request may be amessage generated in response to a user turning on her mobile device,joining a WiFi network, activating a social network, activating a newdevice or any other activity requiring information from the network. Therequest may alternatively be generated in response to an activity thatwas not initiated by a user, such as a billing activity, softwareupdates, etc.

In response to receiving the request to provision the particular servicefor the particular user, a virtual machine/function of repository isdynamically instantiated at block 220 in a front end of the network, forrepresenting the information for use only in providing the particularservice to the particular user. The virtual machine/function ofrepository may be created by hypervisor middleware that is part of thedisclosed dynamic service platform. The virtual machine/function ofrepository contains information needed for instantiating and providingthe particular service to the particular user, but does not containinformation relating to other services or other users.

The virtual machine/function of repository is synchronized at block 230with at least one of the consolidated databases in a back end of thenetwork. The synchronization may take place on a time-based schedule oras needed for the life of the virtual machine/function of repository.Communication between the virtual machine/function of repository and theconsolidated databases implements dynamic security and policyfunctionality as well as a schema adaption function. The synchronizationis in both directions with read, write, change and delete capability. Asnoted above, the consolidated or federated databases are back endvirtual repositories, each repository containing information relating toa group of services having similar or related data requirements, andeach repository containing information relating to a plurality ofusers/subscribers.

The information from the virtual machine/function of repository isaccessed as needed at block 240 in providing the particular service tothe particular user. Interface protocols such as MAP, RADIUS, DIAMETER,LDAP, WS and SQL may be used in communications between the virtualmachine/function of repository and the services supported by the virtualrepository.

The virtual machine/function of repository is deleted (block 260) afterreceiving a request (block 250) to discontinue the particular servicefor the particular user. In that way, the virtual machine is availablefor use in providing another service to another user. The creation anddeletion of the virtual machine/function of repository on an “as needed”basis reduces infrastructure and network elements required inimplementing the presently disclosed architecture.

The system discussed above comprises software running on one or moreprocessors, together with input/output capability and computer readablemedia having computer readable instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by the processors, cause the processors to perform variousoperations. The processors may be dedicated processors, or may bemainframe computers, desktop or laptop computers or any other device orgroup of devices capable of processing data. The processors areconfigured using software according to the present disclosure.

The system also includes memory that functions as a data memory thatstores data used during execution of programs in the processors, and isalso used as a program work area. The memory may also function as aprogram memory for storing a program executed in the processors. Theprogram may reside on any tangible, non-volatile computer-readable mediaas computer readable instructions stored thereon for execution by theprocessor to perform the operations.

Generally, the processors are configured with program modules thatinclude routines, objects, components, data structures and the like thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.The term “program” as used herein may connote a single program module ormultiple program modules acting in concert. The disclosure may beimplemented on a variety of types of computers, and may employ adistributed computing environment, where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, modules may be located in bothlocal and remote memory storage devices.

An exemplary processing module for implementing the methodology abovemay be stored in a separate memory that is read into a main memory of aprocessor or a plurality of processors from a computer readable mediumsuch as a ROM or other type of hard magnetic drive, optical storage,tape or flash memory. The embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” as employed herein refers to atangible, non-transitory machine-encoded medium that provides orparticipates in providing instructions to one or more processors. Forexample, a computer-readable medium may be one or more optical ormagnetic memory disks, flash drives and cards, a read-only memory or arandom access memory such as a DRAM, which typically constitutes themain memory. The terms “tangible media” and “non-transitory media” eachexclude transitory signals such as propagated signals, which are nottangible and are not non-transitory. Cached information is considered tobe stored on a computer-readable medium. Common expedients ofcomputer-readable media are well-known in the art and need not bedescribed in detail here.

CONCLUSION

With the above-described solution in place, when a service controllerinitiates a service instance for a subscriber, a virtualmachine/function of repository is dynamically instantiated for thatservice where all the necessary information for the subscriber and theparticular service are represented in a very small virtualmachine/function of repository. This VM synchronizes directly with theappropriate consolidated repository in both directions with read, write,change and delete capability. Once the service is completed, the VM isdeleted and ready for the next service.

The communication between the VM and main virtual repository platformhas all the necessary functionality such as dynamic security and policyfunctionality and schema adaption functionality to accommodate for newservice database and functionalities needed.

Utilizing existing elements in the network, a dynamic service platformis created where any tailored service can be created on demanddynamically within a short time frame. Data traffic to a networkoperator's internal repository is expected to be reduced by 30%-40%. Thetechnique eliminates multiple instances of the same repository acrossthe network. The amount of capital expenditure and operating expense isreduced significantly by virtualization of the entire repositoryplatform with virtual machines running on off-the-shelf hardware.

Service deployment and network augmentation can be done more efficientlysince the repository data can be reached immediately by utilizingon-demand repository virtual machines. Unnecessary traffic increase andhardware augmentation is avoided in the database domain.

The forgoing detailed description is to be understood as being in everyrespect illustrative and exemplary, but not restrictive, and the scopeof the disclosure herein is not to be determined from the description,but rather from the claims as interpreted according to the full breadthpermitted by the patent laws. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, theterms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variationsthereof are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect mountings,connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled”are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.It is to be understood that various modifications will be implemented bythose skilled in the art, without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing information for use in aparticular network service to a particular user in a network,comprising: creating a plurality of consolidated applicationrepositories in a network backend, including a first consolidatedapplication repository containing information used in a plurality ofnetwork services having similar requirements, the information relatingto a plurality of users; and synchronizing the first consolidatedapplication repository with a virtual machine/function of repository ina front end of the network, the virtual machine/function of repositorybeing dynamically instantiated upon a request to provision an instanceof a particular service for a particular user and being accessible forproviding the particular service to the particular user, wherein thesynchronizing includes synchronizing information for use only inproviding a particular service to a particular user, and does notinclude synchronizing information for providing services other than theinstance of the particular service and does not include synchronizinginformation for providing services to users other than the particularuser.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine/function ofrepository is deleted upon receiving a request to discontinue theparticular service for the particular user.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein synchronizing the first consolidated application repository withthe virtual machine/function of repository further comprises providingdynamic security and policy functionality.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein synchronizing the first consolidated application repository withthe virtual machine/function of repository further comprises providingschema adaption functionality for correctly representing a data schemafor the particular service.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinsynchronizing the first consolidated application repository with thevirtual machine/function of repository further comprises providing atleast one functionality chosen from the group of functionalitiesconsisting of alarm, indexing, backup, change log and certificatefunctionality.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein synchronizing the firstconsolidated application repository with the virtual machine/function ofrepository further comprises writing new information from the virtualmachine/function of repository to the first consolidated applicationrepository.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein synchronizing the firstconsolidated application repository with the virtual machine/function ofrepository further comprises reading new information from the firstconsolidated application repository for recording in the virtualmachine/function of repository.
 8. A tangible computer-usable mediumhaving computer readable instructions stored thereon that, when executedby a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for providinginformation for use in a particular network service to a particular userin a network, the operations comprising: creating a plurality ofconsolidated application repositories in a network backend, including afirst consolidated application repository containing information used ina plurality of network services having similar requirements, theinformation relating to a plurality of users; and synchronizing thefirst consolidated application repository with a virtualmachine/function of repository in a front end of the network, thevirtual machine/function of repository being dynamically instantiatedupon a request to provision an instance of a particular service for aparticular user and being accessible for providing the particularservice to the particular user, wherein both the virtualmachine/function of repository and the first consolidated applicationrepository are synchronized and the synchronizing includes synchronizinginformation for use only in providing a particular service to aparticular user, and does not include synchronizing information forproviding services other than the instance of the particular service anddoes not include synchronizing information for providing services tousers other than the particular user.
 9. The tangible computer-usablemedium of claim 8, wherein the virtual machine/function of repository isdeleted upon receiving a request to discontinue the particular servicefor the particular user.
 10. The tangible computer-usable medium ofclaim 8, wherein synchronizing the first consolidated applicationrepository with the virtual machine/function of repository furthercomprises providing dynamic security and policy functionality.
 11. Thetangible computer-usable medium of claim 8, wherein synchronizing thefirst consolidated application repository with the virtualmachine/function of repository further comprises providing schemaadaption functionality for correctly representing a data schema for theparticular service.
 12. The tangible computer-usable medium of claim 8,wherein synchronizing the first consolidated application repository withthe virtual machine/function of repository further comprises providingat least one functionality chosen from the group of functionalitiesconsisting of alarm, indexing, backup, change log and certificatefunctionality.
 13. The tangible computer-usable medium of claim 8,wherein synchronizing the first consolidated application repository withthe virtual machine/function of repository further comprises writing newinformation from the virtual machine/function of repository to the firstconsolidated application repository.
 14. The tangible computer-usablemedium of claim 8, wherein synchronizing the first consolidatedapplication repository with the virtual machine/function of repositoryfurther comprises reading new information from the first consolidatedapplication repository for recording in the virtual machine/function ofrepository.
 15. A network backend, comprising: a processor; a computeruseable medium connected to the processor and containing computerreadable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations for providinginformation for use in a particular network service to a particular userin a network, the operations comprising: creating a plurality ofconsolidated application repositories in a network backend, including afirst consolidated application repository containing information used ina plurality of network services having similar requirements, theinformation relating to a plurality of users; and synchronizing thefirst consolidated application repository with a virtualmachine/function of repository in a front end of the network, thevirtual machine/function of repository being dynamically instantiatedupon a request to provision an instance of a particular service for aparticular user and being accessible for providing the particularservice to the particular user, wherein the synchronizing includessynchronizing information for use only in providing a particular serviceto a particular user, and does not include synchronizing information forproviding services other than the instance of the particular service anddoes not include synchronizing information for providing services tousers other than the particular user, wherein the virtualmachine/function of repository is deleted upon receiving a request todiscontinue the particular service for the particular user..
 16. Thenetwork backend of claim 15, wherein synchronizing the firstconsolidated application repository with the virtual machine/function ofrepository further comprises providing dynamic security and policyfunctionality.
 17. The network backend of claim 15, whereinsynchronizing the first consolidated application repository with thevirtual machine/function of repository further comprises providingschema adaption functionality for correctly representing a data schemafor the particular service.
 18. The network backend of claim 15, whereinsynchronizing the first consolidated application repository with thevirtual machine/function of repository further comprises providing atleast one functionality chosen from the group of functionalitiesconsisting of alarm, indexing, backup, change log and certificatefunctionality.
 19. The network backend of claim 15, whereinsynchronizing the first consolidated application repository with thevirtual machine/function of repository further comprises writing newinformation from the virtual machine/function of repository to the firstconsolidated application repository.
 20. The network backend of claim15, wherein synchronizing the first consolidated application repositorywith the virtual machine/function of repository further comprisesreading new information from the first consolidated applicationrepository for recording in the virtual machine/function of repository.